Lotensin News

Lotensin Q&A

USE IN PREGNANCY

When used in pregnancy, ACE inhibitors can cause injury and even death to the developing fetus. When pregnancy is detected, Lotensin should be discontinued as soon as possible. See WARNINGS, Fetal/Neonatal Morbidity and Mortality.

LOTENSIN SUMMARY

USE IN PREGNANCY

Benazepril hydrochloride is a white to off-white crystalline powder, soluble (>100 mg/mL) in water, in ethanol, and in methanol.

Lotensin is indicated for the treatment of hypertension. It may be used alone or in combination with thiazide diuretics.

In using Lotensin, consideration should be given to the fact that another angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, captopril, has caused agranulocytosis, particularly in patients with renal impairment or collagen-vascular disease. Available data are insufficient to show that Lotensin does not have a similar risk (see WARNINGS).

Black patients receiving ACE-inhibitors have been reported to have a higher incidence of angioedema compared to nonblacks. It should also be noted that in controlled clinical trials ACE inhibitors have an effect on blood pressure that is less in black patients than in nonblacks.

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

Published Studies Related to Lotensin (Benazepril)

Efficacy and duration of benazepril plus amlodipine or hydrochlorothiazide on 24-hour ambulatory systolic blood pressure control. [2011.02]The combination of benazepril plus amlodipine was shown to be more effective than benazepril plus hydrochlorothiazide in reducing cardiovascular events in the Avoiding Cardiovascular Events through Combination Therapy in Patients Living with Systolic Hypertension (ACCOMPLISH) trial... The 24-hour blood pressure control was similar in both treatment arms, supporting the interpretation that the difference in cardiovascular outcomes favoring a renin angiotensin system blocker combined with amlodipine rather than hydrochlorothiazide shown in the ACCOMPLISH trial was not caused by differences in blood pressure, but instead intrinsic properties (metabolic or hemodynamic) of the combination therapies.

Benazepril plus amlodipine or hydrochlorothiazide for hypertension in high-risk patients. [2008.12.04]BACKGROUND: The optimal combination drug therapy for hypertension is not established, although current U.S. guidelines recommend inclusion of a diuretic. We hypothesized that treatment with the combination of an angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitor and a dihydropyridine calcium-channel blocker would be more effective in reducing the rate of cardiovascular events than treatment with an ACE inhibitor plus a thiazide diuretic... CONCLUSIONS: The benazepril-amlodipine combination was superior to the benazepril-hydrochlorothiazide combination in reducing cardiovascular events in patients with hypertension who were at high risk for such events. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00170950.) 2008 Massachusetts Medical Society